Electrek published a hit piece yesterday on pre-ordering Fisker Ocean One shouting “Red Alert” and Henrik slams them for it.
Yesterday, Electrek published an article that Henrik Fisker said was “aimed at doing harm.” The news site is dedicated to writing about electric vehicles.
The article was written by Electrek Editor-in-Chief Fred Lambert. It is titled, “Fisker asks extra $5,000 nonrefundable deposit from its Ocean reservation holders.” In the article, Lambert unfairly criticizes Fisker and conveniently leaves out the facts.
Electrek is known for its positive coverage of electric vehicles and its pro-Tesla stance. For instance, Fred Lambert mainly focuses on covering Tesla. He does so each day shining a positive light on Tesla.
However, Lambert has written several articles with nasty “Takes” about Fisker in the past. He always finds a way to characterize Henrik Fisker and Fisker Inc in a negative light. He only provides negative coverage for Fisker. It’s almost as if Lambert has a chip on his shoulder.
Henrik Fisker Responds
On Instagram, Henrik Fisker saw a post that referenced the hit piece and commented. Henrik Fisker responded to the article in the comments section slamming it as a “phony article.” He said it was “aimed at doing harm.” In his response, Henrik also provides us with an update on the progress of pre-ordering Fisker Ocean One. Henrik Fisker stated:
“That was a phony article clearly aimed at doing harm!! I’m happy to report we got a great reception from people who can now configure their Ocean One and secure there limited edition. We (Fisker Inc) can now start specifying the orders and get them build with the right trim & colors! Each Ocean ONE will come with a dedicated number! It’s great to see how so many people who are supporting the expansion of ALL EVs to create a clean future for everyone!!! ???”
Lambert’s lack of understanding
When we first came across the article yesterday, we had a similar feeling as Henrik Fisker. It is almost as if Lambert is trying to sensationalize Fisker’s past without providing all the facts surrounding the new company. He cherry picks little details here and there and glosses over the facts. There are a handful of mischaracterizations in the article. On top of this, Lambert throws out a few disparaging statements around Fisker.
Fisker and Magna’s relationship
Firstly, let’s start with Lambert’s lack of understanding between the relationship of Fisker and Magna. Lambert states, “Fisker has very little power about when it can deliver the Ocean, considering it is being built by Magna.” He doesn’t bother to mention that Magna has an equity stake in Fisker. The interests between the two companies are aligned. He also conveniently forgets to include any of the positive “Takes” his colleague Scooter Doll published about a month ago. For instance, Fisker’s decision to partner with Magna as a contract manufacturer was a “slam dunk move.”
Reserving vs. pre-ordering
Secondly, let’s continue with Lambert insinuating that Fisker is in the wrong to ask for a non-refundable $5,000 deposit to pre-order the Fisker Ocean One. It’s not a popular decision, but Lambert frames it as if Fisker is asking customers to put up an “extra $5,000” and “And it’s not like that pre-order guarantees you much.” In fact, it seems Lambert can’t make the distinction between reserving a Fisker Ocean for $250 and pre-ordering the Fisker Ocean One launch edition for $5,000. Reserving and pre-ordering are two separate events throughout the purchasing process. What Lambert writes is completely disingenuous.
Keeping your place in line for other trims
Thirdly, Lambert bad mouths the pre-ordering process. He fails to state that reservation holders can pass on the Fisker Ocean One and still retain their spot in the original Fisker Ocean reservation line. It’s not an all or nothing situation for early Fisker Ocean reservation holders. They can wait until 2023. We talked about this on Friday when the new Ocean One pre-order details dropped. Lambert never mentions that Fisker will begin processing reservations for Fisker Ocean Extreme, Ultra, and Sport after the 5,000 Fisker Ocean One pre-orders are sold out. It simply doesn’t fit the narrative that Lambert wants to push.
Fiskerati’s “Take”
Lambert is kind of like a media bully, beating up on Henrik Fisker and Fisker Inc. with his unkind words. What he needs to do is spend some time with his colleagues like Scooter Doll. He actually does his homework on Fisker. As Editor-in-Chief, Lambert reads all of Doll’s work. However, Lambert conveniently seems to forget it when writing his own articles about Henrik Fisker or Fisker Inc. Lambert needs to do a better job with including the facts instead of glossing over them. Let’s all hope Lambert will become more fact based and soften up if he chooses to cover more stories about Fisker.
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Not sure Henrik has any place to talk here. He, regardless of what you think of his designs, is not in a position to complain about valid criticism. Everything in this Electrek article is spot on. Henrik needs to tone down his arrogance a bit. Its becoming more and more obnoxious. He is the one that has a lot to prove, his critics are 100% justified in challenging his pompous attitude and the burden of proof is on Fisker.
@grimtango: When Tesla is asking its reservation holders for $50,000 (and only Elon knows how much of that will be refundable) in advance for a Gen2 Roadster with no firm delivery date, that is pretty arrogant and obnoxious. I sense from your bias towards Tesla that you are ok with that. Remember Elon had to be arrogant and obnoxious because he had the same chip on his shoulder, burden of proof. Everyone was telling him that Tesla was doomed to fail. You should be more worried about Tesla’s ability to produce high quality vehicles, considering they are ranked very low in CR and JD Powers reliability and dependability rankings. People still remember the crappy Ford, GM, Chrysler vehicles of the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. People will remember the crappy and expensive Tesla vehicles at the dawn of the EV revolution.
Mr Fisker, produce the car, stop whining, don’t repeat the pretended production line from Uusikaupunki.